Dangerous Confessions
by Enchantedfan4life
Summary: This story takes place after Eli confesses his feelings to Lani following their close moment at work. Lani Price and Eli Grant have not yet been added to the database, so I was not able to choose characters when I uploaded. I don't own any of the characters, just having some fun creating stories for #Elani during their (unfortunately) frequent droughts on the show. Hope you enjoy!
1. Dangerous Confessions

Eli sat alone at the bar at Doug's Place staring into his tonic water brooding. Did he do the right thing telling Lani the truth about his feeling? Just then Julie approaches and he plasters a smile on his face. It's not that he did not love his grandmother dearly, it's just now was not the time. Had he not promised to meet his mother, he would be at home right now wallowing in his misery privately.

"That smile doesn't fool me for a minute buster," Julie says. "Something's wrong. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Lani."

"No, it's nothing like that," Eli lied. "It's just that I'm dead tired and after the day I've had I need about 100 hours of sleep."

"You should be home resting then, are you meeting someone? I hope it's not…"

"No, it's not Gabi," Eli said chuckling at his grandmother's tenacity. She could hold a grudge forever and a day. "I'm meeting my mom. She should be here by now." He looked at his watch. Val was 20 minutes late.

"Well your mother is a talented physician and it's been all hands on deck for Marlena."

"Yeah, she said she needed to take a break tonight. She says getting a change of scenery helps her to focus when she's back at work."

Val enters and rushes to the bar out of breath. "I'm so sorry I'm late. A specialist flew in tonight. Kayla and I met with her."

"How is Marlena doing?" Julie asks her voice full of concern.

Val shakes her head. "All I can say a this point is that we're doing everything we can."

"Such a shame," Julie said clucking her tongue. "That DiMera person has caused so much havoc in the last few days. I have been checking the freezer every hour since she stashed Susan and Eve in there. As a matter of fact. I'm due to check again right now, if you'll excuse me." With that Julie walked briskly to the back of the restaurant.

"You look how I feel," Val said regarding Eli. She rested her pocketbook on an empty bar stool. "Are you coming down with something?"

 _Just lovesick that's all_ , Eli thought to himself. "Nahh...I'm alright," he said out loud and stood. "Let's get a table."

Once they were seated Val mentions again that Eli does not look well.

"It's just work stuff," Eli says in response. "We had a drug bust yesterday and then there's tracking down Kristen DiMera."

Val shivered. "Be careful. Everyone thought she was dead once. Then she survived a fall that left Paul fighting for his life."

"Kristen DiMera is problematic, but some women are far more dangerous." Eli sighed. He had not stopped thinking about Lani for one second since they parted at the station. If this continued he was definitely going to lose his mind. The DiMera case was child's play compared to what was going on with him internally.

"Who could be more dangerous than that woman?" Val asked.

Eli says he would rather not talk about work now and picks up a menu. "Order anything you want and something to take back with you to the hospital."

Val glances at her phone. "Actually, let's wait a few more minutes before we order. I invited Lani to join us…"

"You invited Lani?" He said incredulously and immediately regretted raising his voice at his mother. Something he never did. Eli was determined to not talk about Lani, not tonight. It was bad enough that he was constantly thinking about her. And he certainly could not handle sitting across from her chatting amiably as if nothing had happened. Not while he was still second guessing himself about telling her that he cared.

"I didn't think it would be a problem," Val explained. I ran into Lani earlier and asked her to join us if she was free tonight and we talked a bit about you."

That's just great Eli thought. Lani would run away for sure now with him and his mother pressuring her. "I wish you had not done that. But anyway, I am positive Lani is not joining us tonight."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am."

Just then Val looked over his shoulder and smiled. Eli turned to see Lani standing right behind him. He immediately rose to his feet. "Lani...you're here…" he said thinking that his eyes were deceiving him. But there she was, dressed far differently than usual. Tonight she was wearing a satiny dress that fell to mid thigh leaving most of her smooth golden brown legs bare all the way down to a pair of high heeled sandals that exposed red painted toes. Her hair hung in soft waves around her shoulders. She wore maybe a tad more makeup. The fringe of lashes over her brown eyes was darker, which made her direct gaze that much more stunning. This woman was a vision.

"Um...obviously, I'm here." Lani quipped.

"Don't you look pretty tonight." Val said. "I love that dress. Red looks gorgeous on you."

Lani moves past Eli to greet his mother with a kiss. Then she pretends to kiss Eli on the cheek, but instead whispers. "You're staring…"

"I'm glad you could make it." Val says and then her phone rings. She leaves the table to take the call. Eli pulls out a chair for Lani.

"You know I hate chivalry" she says.

"It's the way my mom raised me and she's looking at us right now. So please humor me this one time." Lani sits down in the offered chair. Eli sits down beside her.

"Listen Lani, I had no idea that my mother had invited you tonight. The last thing I want to do is to make you feel pressured."

"Do I look like I'm pressured?" Lani said and crossed her long legs. "I drank too much coffee today thanks to you. Now I need to unwind. And I wanted to…."

Val returns to the table interrupting their conversation. She says that she isn't going to be able to stay for dinner. The colleague from out of town has to leave a day early due to a family emergency. So they're going to conference again on the case. "But you two go ahead. Enjoy yourselves," she said. Without waiting for an answer, Val blows them both a kiss and walks over to Chloe who had taken over for the bartender. She whispers something to her and then leaves.

Eli looked at Lani who was rummaging through her purse. He knew from months of working with her that even on her days off she carried nothing but a phone and a tube of lipstick. This fascination with the contents of her bag was obviously a ruse to deal with an awkward situation that had gotten even more awkward now that Val had left them alone. Eli sat back in his seat and sighed. This could not possibly get any worse. Then as if in answer to his thoughts, the first few chords of a melody filled the air. Chloe was now seated at the piano. "I just got a request for a song. This is a little something I wrote this week. I hope you enjoy." She played for another minute before she began to sing. "A love so strong/A passion that never ends/A feeling so real..."

"That doesn't even rhyme," Lani said in a low voice so that only Eli could hear. Whatever she was looking for in her bag now forgotten. Thankfully Chloe had helped to break the ice.

"Chloe has a beautiful voice," Lani continued, "but the lyrics could use some work. And I don't know why Doug's Place always has to be so dark for the dinner crowd."

Eli raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "So no chivalry for you. And no romance either I see."

"Nope, I don't do either. Give me a WNBA game any day over candle light and piano music and a little bit of food on a great big plate."

Eli laughed. He knew of her love for the WNBA-and heaping plates of food. Lani had played basketball in college and dreamed of going professional until an injury sidelined her. "Listen Lani. My apologies for all of this. I know it looks like a set up, but I swear to you. I had nothing to do with it."

"I totally believe you. I thought I saw my dad's car parked a few blocks down from here when I came in. Just the other day he was telling me that I should get out more. Then Val asked me to come to dinner with the two of you. They're probably in on this together."

"Apparently, your dad is my mom's getaway driver for the night."

"You are always thinking like a cop even when you're not on the job."

Julie comes by the table and tells them how good it is to see them together. When she leaves Eli tells Lani that it's always been just him and his mom. It's strange but nice to have family like Julie around all up in his business. Lani says it might take some getting used to having so many people who care about you. That word "care" hung between them. Then they spoke at the same time. Eli insisted that she speak first. Lani says that part of the reason she came tonight is not only because of the invitation, and to relax, but to also assure him that he had done nothing wrong. In fact the notepad argument made her laugh more than she had in weeks, maybe months.

"But then you suddenly got so serious and then it continued at the station," Lani explained. "I know you're walking on eggshells because I freaked out a few weeks ago…"

"You had every right. I shouldn't have kissed you…"

"No, you shouldn't have done that, but not for the reason you think. Not because you were wrong, but because I was in so much pain and so confused. I was just not ready yet. It was too soon."

"You mean…"

"I mean that I care about you too Eli." She reached for his hand. "I wasn't sure before. We've been through so much and alot of it has been painful and sad. But today when we were laughing about your horrible handwriting, I knew. I want more moments like that with you."

Eli took both of her hands in his. "Lani, I am so relieved. I want that too."

"You promise?"

"A solemn oath," Eli crossed his heart.

"In that case since your grandma isn't looking, you and I are going to slip away and…"

"And…"

"And we're going to the pub for clam chowder. Now that is real food."

"Ugh" Eli screws up his face. "Maybe it was better when you were accusing me of harassment."

"You're such a wimp."

"Oh, so I get it. You want more moments where you get to make fun of me."

"Uhhh...yeah. I mean you are so make-fun-able." Lani smiles and stands. She straightens her short dress before reaching to pull Eli to his feet. "Let's walk through the square. Maybe I'll harass you on the way."

"While that sounds very, very tempting. I actually have a better idea."

"Oh and what is that?"

"Dance with me."

Not waiting for her to answer Eli takes her hand and leads Lani to the small dance floor where a few other couples were swaying to the music. Chloe was now covering an Aretha Franklin song.

Lani crossed her arms. "I told you…"

"I know, you don't do romance, but I do." And with that he pulled her into his arms.

To be continued...


	2. Dangerously Close

As soon as she began to dance with Eli, Lani immediately knew that her choice of clothing that evening was a mistake. Despite his shirt and jacket, Lani could feel every angle of Eli's lean, masculine frame against her body. They were so close, the fabric of her dress so thin.

If it was up to her she would have worn slacks, but she'd chosen the dress and snuck in a mani-pedi because she knew that Val would approve. She'd heard Eli complain on more than one occasion that growing up his mother insisted that they go out to eat at least once a month to a place where he had to wear a suit. "Our church didn't even require that we wear suits, but my mom made sure I did on a regular basis. And she still does," he'd said once during a seven hour stake out when they'd talked and argued about everything under the sun. She knew so much about this man, but yet so little.

Chloe crooned from the piano, candles flickered on the tables, Eli's hand roamed the length of her back along her spine. His heart was a strong steady cadence against his chest while hers beat wildly. This tangle of sensations would be her undoing she was sure of it. She tried to will the tension from her body. Why on earth did she suddenly feel so exposed now when they'd actually been naked together that one night. For some strange reason, this kinda-sorta date seemed more intimate. Maybe because they knew each other better.

Lani flashes back to that night in December and then the next morning:

* * *

 _She'd woken up, seen the empty shot glasses and was overcome with an acute sense of guilt. At the same time she still tingled all over. Eli had always been so calm, cool and composed, she never would have guessed he had such a passionate side. Their time together was nothing short of pure, unadulterated pleasure. But no matter how beautiful the night was, it was wrong. Eli cared for Gabi not her, and she was supposed to be working things out with JJ. She shoves him "Eli, wake up."_

 _"What?" Eli responded groggily._

 _"What did we do?" Lani asked rhetorically with remorse dripping from every word. It all still seemed unreal. She, Lani Price had slept with Eli Grant, completely out of the blue. After being friends and partners for months._

 _"Merry Christmas," Eli says jovially and sits up smiling as if all was right in his world. As if she was supposed to be there in his bed. The fact that he seemed completely unbothered further annoyed her._

 _"That's all you have to say? I can't believe that we..."_

 _"Had sex? Lani, it's not like we're the only ones. Gabi and JJ had their own little private Christmas Eve, so why not?_

 _And there it was a complete kick in the gut. Lani was the stand-in for Gabi Hernandez. The night before he'd told her that he'd fallen for her once. Why did he not expound on these so called feelings? Instead he says "Well they did it first."_

* * *

After that day, for months all during her pregnancy, no matter how attentive Eli was to her, even when Gabi was incarcerated, Lani still had the nagging feeling that if given a choice, if Gabi would take him back, Eli would jump at the chance.

Then today happened. After their funny little fight about his notepad, Eli said he had feelings for her. Deep down inside, Lani had to admit that she knew Eli had been sincere since he told her he'd fallen for her once on Christmas Eve. He wouldn't run a line like that just to get her in to bed. He wasn't that type of man. And when he kissed her a few weeks ago it was to express how he felt.

Now they were together dancing. Lani leaned in closer and placed her head on Eli's shoulder. This felt so right. She could trust him. There was no need to be afraid anymore. "Hey, your hand just went pretty low there, Mister. You better not touch my butt," she warned jokingly.

"I think I can manage to refrain for the time being," Eli said. "My grandmother just walked by twice. I'm more afraid of her than I am of you."

"Oh, so you'd try it if your grandma wasn't chaperoning?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question or are you making fun of me again?"

Lani looked up to find Eli smiling down at her.

Then Eli's phone vibrated. Without hesitation Lani drew away from him. "You should probably get that, it could be the station," she said realizing with more disappointment than she'd admit that their sultry interlude was probably over for now.

"And you say that I'm always a cop." Eli reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through the messages.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said shaking his head.

"What? Please don't tell me we have to go in."

"No, it's my mom. She sent me a text saying she's going on vacation for a week."

"Good for her. When is she leaving?

"She's already gone.."

"What? I thought she said she was going back to the hospital. And Marlena is still in critical condition. She's taking a vacation now?"

"Exactly. Something is not right." Eli said. They went back to their table and he attempted to call Valerie several times. The calls went to voicemail. He called Abe who said he got the same vacation message. Lani suggested they go to the hospital to see if Val was there. Once at the hospital they found Kayla who said that she received two emails from Val. In one message Val said she was going away. In the second message she said she'd contacted four top specialists from different parts of the world who were going to arrive in Salem that night to work on Marlena's case. One had already arrived, Dr. Pang from Singapore. Eli and Lani spoke to Dr. Pang who told them that she never had direct contact with Dr. Valerie Grant. Someone named Mr. Morely had arranged everything on her behalf.

Next Eli and Lani go to Val's apartment where they discovered that her suitcases were gone. Eli offers to drive Lani home, but she says that she wants to stay with him until he hears back from his mother. They go to Eli's apartment.

"None of this adds up," Eli says tossing his keys into a dish on a table in his living room. "My mother makes plans to go away for a week but does not tell me, Abe or Kayla until after she leaves. This is just not like her."

"Do you think she might be in some kind of trouble?" Lani puts her bag on the table and shivers. The evening had grown cool and her little red dress was not nearly enough to ward off the chill.

"If I did something like this. Planned a vacation for a week without telling anyone that I was leaving or where I was going, she'd have my head on a platter. My mom is not a hypocrite. She practices what she preaches, for the most part."

Lani knew the hypocritical part of Val that Eli was referring too. Val had lied about who his father was for years. Lani was the last person to cast judgement since she found herself in a similar situation and did not behave honorably. "Maybe there's a really good reason why she didn't tell you and she'll explain when she gets back. Do you want to go to the station to see if we can track her phone?"

Eli shakes his head." It's been three hours since we saw her. She sent a text saying she was going on vacation. Then there's the emails to Kayla. So she wouldn't classify as missing. Rafe and Hope would think I was worried over nothing. Maybe I am."

"But your gut is telling you that something is wrong. And frankly this is way out of character for Valerie. She demands that everything be out in the open. No secrets. And I have first hand experience with Valerie's demands." Lani recalled the day that Val had confronted her about carrying Eli's baby and lying about it. She turned from Eli pretending to look at the books lining his shelves, suddenly feeling the pain of losing David all over again.

"Hey," Eli said softly coming behind her. "I know my mom put you through alot Lani. I still feel bad about that."

"Well don't," Lani said more forcefully than she intended. She turned to look at him. "I was prepared to lie to you and to JJ for your entire lives because I couldn't face the truth of what I had done."

"What we did," Eli said. "You were never alone. I was just as culpable."

"Well, if you don't want to go to the station. What should we do now?" Lani turned the discussion back to the problem at hand.

"I guess, there's nothing left to do but wait at this point."

"Then I'll go make some tea." Lani walked on shaky legs to the kitchen and began opening and closing cupboards. She needed something to do while they waited. Why did every conversation go back to the surreptitious one night stand, the resulting pregnancy and their mutual, devastating loss? Would it always be this way or could they get past it?

She took down two mugs and placed them on the counter. Eli didn't have any tea bags, but she did find a few ancient looking packs of instant hot chocolate. While the water boiled, she went to Eli's bedroom and changed into a pair of his sweat pants and a t-shirt, both of which were far too big for her "slender" body. That's what Eli said about her one day when she confided in him that men preferred the voluptuous types on Instagram and that she'd been called "too skinny." Eli said "I wouldn't say you were skinny. I'd say you're slim or slender." Lani remembered feeling somehow flattered by his matter of fact assessment. He did not pose the comment in a way that made her feel that he had been checking her out, still the remark let her know he did notice. This was before their night together and was perhaps one of those on the surface innocent conversations that lead up to that moment.

When Lani came back to the living room, Eli was sitting on the couch with a laptop open next to him. His head was leaned back as he stared up at the ceiling. He'd removed his jacket and tie. His shirt was open to the clavicle revealing his ever present gold chain. "There's something that happened recently that I never told you about," he said turning his head to look at her as she approached him. "Remember a few weeks ago when you came in to work a half hour late?"

Lani put the two mugs of steaming liquid on the coffee table and sat down next to him. "Yeah, I had a flat."

"You didn't call or text and in those 30 minutes, not knowing where you were or if something had happened to you almost killed me."

"Eli I carry a Glock and as you know I've mastered three different martial arts. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"I know," Eli sighed. "That's why I never told you how worried I was. I literally could not function until I knew you were okay." He paused before continuing. "All of my life, I never worried too much about anything. I felt that you could take care of yourself and my mom too. I'm just now realizing how fragile life can be. I have to make sure my mom is alright, Lani. I can't lose her. I couldn't save David. God I can't lose her...or you."

"Eli, there was nothing that any of us could have done to save David. But Valerie is going to be fine." She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I promise..." In response, Eli pulled her into an embrace so powerful, it stole her breath away.


End file.
